Some suggestions for heads.....

dapperdan

Member
Hey everyone-
Im picking up my new Dw set very soon here and I needed some advise.
My last 2 drums have been Yamaha and Tama, but I have no idea what bass-drum heads i should use for my new Dw (mostly because guitar center is a pain to work with so i cant just try out a bunch of heads)

i'm using coated ambassadors for all my other heads and have a 22in and 24in bass, so what
heads would match them best?

Thanks- daniel
 
On my DW's I prefer Evans clear EMAD or GMAD. They are very similar in sound although the GMAD is a bit tougher because its a 12 mil head. With either of these heads I can get a multitude of sounds from a low thump to higher tunings.
 
I have
toms - Evans coated G2 top clear G1 bottom
kick...EMAD
snare- Evans ST dry vented.

love it

my bitches sing
 
On my DW's I prefer Evans clear EMAD or GMAD. They are very similar in sound although the GMAD is a bit tougher because its a 12 mil head. With either of these heads I can get a multitude of sounds from a low thump to higher tunings.

+1

Been using EMAD for a few years and it sounds fantastic. Have used the EMAD2 but was too dead and controlled for my taste. It recorded well but I just didn't care for it much. I would stick to the single plys EMAD and GMAD unless you want that very controlled dead kick sound the EMAD2 offers.
 
+1

Been using EMAD for a few years and it sounds fantastic. Have used the EMAD2 but was too dead and controlled for my taste. It recorded well but I just didn't care for it much. I would stick to the single plys EMAD and GMAD unless you want that very controlled dead kick sound the EMAD2 offers.

Yeah, I will check out the EMAD.
But just to double check- They are punchy with good reverb? because that exactly what im looking for with my Dw.
 
I picked up an old Ludwig 22x14 bass drum and refinished it. It came with an Aquarian SuperKick II batter and the crap Ludwig stock reso head that's about as flimsy as a piece of cellophane. The drum had a really dead sound no matter how I tuned it. I ditched those heads and installed a Remo PowerStroke 3 batter and an Aquarian Regulator reso head (the one with the hole). I didn't put anything in the drum to muffle it.

Wow. The first time I stomped the pedal it was a "holy s__t!" moment. The drum sounds like an explosion. It hits hard and you can feel it in your chest. It has a phenomenal boom with just a little sustain, but as weird as this sounds, it's not boomy (or bouncy? doingy?). It's not sloppy, either. I can play fast and it sounds great.

Tonight at practice will be the first time I use it with the band. I've been playing a 20" tuned up for some punch. It projected well but just never fit in. My new boomer is perfect and the guys might have to crank up the amps a little bit to keep up :)
 
I picked up an old Ludwig 22x14 bass drum and refinished it. It came with an Aquarian SuperKick II batter and the crap Ludwig stock reso head that's about as flimsy as a piece of cellophane. The drum had a really dead sound no matter how I tuned it. I ditched those heads and installed a Remo PowerStroke 3 batter and an Aquarian Regulator reso head (the one with the hole). I didn't put anything in the drum to muffle it.

Wow. The first time I stomped the pedal it was a "holy s__t!" moment. The drum sounds like an explosion. It hits hard and you can feel it in your chest. It has a phenomenal boom with just a little sustain, but as weird as this sounds, it's not boomy (or bouncy? doingy?). It's not sloppy, either. I can play fast and it sounds great.

Tonight at practice will be the first time I use it with the band. I've been playing a 20" tuned up for some punch. It projected well but just never fit in. My new boomer is perfect and the guys might have to crank up the amps a little bit to keep up :)

yeah, matching heads to drums is EVERYTHING. Like my dw snare, With the stock heads is sounded like a crap 50$ snare. So I got an 14in emperor head and stuck it on, and it sounded better then any snare I have had.
 
Here's a though that may even start a discussion: You could just use another coated ambassador! The self dampened bass heads are cool, but just a normal coated ambassador will give you all of the options that you can then refine with different dampening and EQ. A friend of mine did this with his studio kit--the dampened heads are "pre-tuned" in a sense where as the ambassador gives you the full spectrum to fine tune to your liking.
 
Just put a EMAD on my 20" Bass drum and was blown away with the sound. It's never been so easy to get a warm, fat sound with definition. I wouldn't use this type of head for jazz but it's ideal for rock etc.

I've found the G2s on toms to be a bit slappy in the past. Any recommendations? I'm going for a warm Stanley Randolph type sound.
 
Wow! Look at all the Evans fans! (Me too, G1's) but I have to say my favorite bass drum head is still Remo PS3.
 
Here's a though that may even start a discussion: You could just use another coated ambassador! The self dampened bass heads are cool, but just a normal coated ambassador will give you all of the options that you can then refine with different dampening and EQ. A friend of mine did this with his studio kit--the dampened heads are "pre-tuned" in a sense where as the ambassador gives you the full spectrum to fine tune to your liking.

Yeah- you might have a point.... im thinking a little bulkier of a head will be more my thing but im going to have to give this a shot on a cocktail set.
 
EMAD, nothing but EMAD, no question, problem solved ;o) We have a hell of a lot of other things to look at and try (and spend a lot on...). At least, with EMAD, it's a problem solved and I never question it, even for my new DW Jazz Series...
 
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